| Welcome to my
website. I am a highly respected and accomplished musician and composer who has been playing uilleann pipes for almost thirty years. Born in Dublin, Ireland, it was here that I took my first lessons from John Keenan Snr., father of well-known piper is
Paddy Keenan. My piping is strongly influenced by the 'travelling style' of piping, which employs legato and staccato techniques, elements which are heard to great effect in my playing.
I have a wealth of playing experience behind me, touring both solo and ensemble throughout Europe and the UK, and in India, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Recent performances include a concert at the Lincoln Centre for the Arts in New York, with singer/songwriter Melanie O'Reilly, and a role as an on-stage musician in "The Colleen Bawn", which played in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 1998 and 1999, and the National Theatre in London in 1999. In 2000, I appeared with CoisCéim, Irish dance theatre, in their production "Ballads," which played in Dublin and at the prestigious dance festival, Jacob's Pillow, in Massachusetts; in 2001, we travelled with the same show to Tasmania's Ten Days on the Island Festival.
In 1991 I released my first recording, Travel 'n Style. It was warmly received across the broad spectrum of the folk/traditional world, and Neil Toner, broadcaster in RTE, hailed Travel 'n Style as "an excellent release appealing to a much wider audience that strictly traditional music lovers". Bright Silver Dark Wood. , my second album, "an aural feast of musical soul food" (Irish Music Magazine), was released in June 2002.
As well as being part of the Irish traditional scene, I play in a Dublin-based band, Khanda, which features the music of India, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Ireland. In September 1997 Khanda launched their debut recording. In January 2001, Khanda toured India with the Karnataka College of Percussion. A documentary, "Five Cities," of this tour and subsequent concert in Dublin was aired on Irish national television in October 2001.
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